Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A nappali világos és nyugodt, ha az ablak nyitva van. - The living room is bright and calm when the window is open.

nappali on its own is a noun meaning living room.
A is the definite article the (before consonant sounds). So:
- A nappali = the living room
- Egy nappali = a living room (indefinite)

Note: nappal (with one p and -al) is a different word: it’s an adverb meaning by day / during the day. So don’t confuse nappali (living room) with nappal (by day).

Why is there no van after világos és nyugodt? In English we say “the living room is bright and calm”.

In Hungarian, the verb van (to be) is usually omitted in the present tense when:

the subject is 3rd person (he, she, it, they, or a thing like the living room), and
the predicate is an adjective or a noun phrase.

So instead of:

A nappali van világos és nyugodt. ❌ (unnatural)

we say:

A nappali világos és nyugodt. ✅
= The living room is bright and calm.

Compare:

Péter magas. = Peter is tall. (no van)
Ez a könyv érdekes. = This book is interesting. (no van)

But in Az ablak nyitva van, the van is needed because the predicate is not a simple adjective; see the next related questions.

Are világos and nyugodt both adjectives? How do they work here?

Yes, both are adjectives used as predicative adjectives (describing the state of the subject).

világos = bright, light
nyugodt = calm, peaceful, quiet (about atmosphere / mood)

In the sentence:

A nappali világos és nyugodt
- A nappali = the subject
- világos és nyugodt = predicate (what the living room is like)

To negate them:

A nappali nem világos és nem nyugodt.
= The living room is not bright and not calm.

You usually repeat nem before each adjective if you want to emphasize both negations.

Why is there a comma before ha? In English we don’t have to put a comma before “if”.

Hungarian punctuation rules are stricter about this than English.

Rule of thumb: You normally put a comma before a subordinate clause, and ha (if/when) introduces such a clause.

So:

A nappali világos és nyugodt, ha az ablak nyitva van. ✅
= Main clause + ,
- subordinate clause (if-clause)

If you start the sentence with the ha-clause, you still usually put a comma between the two clauses:

Ha az ablak nyitva van, a nappali világos és nyugodt. ✅

In spoken Hungarian the pause is also typically heard at that point.

Could I also say Ha nyitva van az ablak instead of ha az ablak nyitva van? Is there any difference?

Yes, both word orders are correct:

Ha az ablak nyitva van, a nappali világos és nyugodt.
Ha nyitva van az ablak, a nappali világos és nyugodt.

The difference is about emphasis and focus, not grammar.

az ablak nyitva van – neutral order: subject az ablak first.
nyitva van az ablak – the state (being open) is slightly more in focus; it can sound a bit more emphatic, like “if it is open, the window…”

In everyday conversation, both versions are fine and very natural; learners can safely treat them as equivalent for now.

What exactly is nyitva? Why not nyitott?

Both nyitva and nyitott relate to being open, but they’re used differently.

nyitva is a kind of adverbial participle meaning in an open state / open (as a current condition).
- Az ablak nyitva van. = The window is (in the state of being) open.
- Az ajtó nyitva maradt. = The door stayed open.
nyitott is an adjectival participle and can behave more like a standard adjective:
- nyitott ajtó = an open door (as a description of a noun)
- Péter nyitott személyiség. = Peter is an open (open‑minded) person.

For physical “is open” as a state, nyitva van is the normal everyday expression:

Az ablak nyitva van. ✅
Az ablak nyitott. ❌ (grammatically possible in some contexts, but sounds odd here; not how you normally say “the window is open”)

Why do we need van in az ablak nyitva van, when van was omitted earlier?

In Az ablak nyitva van, the predicate is nyitva, which is not a simple adjective but a state expression formed from a verb. In these cases, van is normally kept in the present tense.

Contrast:

A nappali világos. (adjective) → no van
Az ablak nyitva van. (state expression) → van is used

Other common examples where you keep van:

Az ajtó csukva van. = The door is closed.
A lámpa fel van kapcsolva. = The lamp is switched on.

So:

Adjectives as simple descriptions → often no van in present 3rd person.
nyitva / csukva / felkapcsolva, etc. (resulting states of actions) → van is normally included.

Could I just say Az ablak nyitva without van?

In standard, neutral Hungarian, Az ablak nyitva van is the correct and natural form.

You might occasionally hear Az ablak nyitva in very casual speech or special stylistic contexts, but for a learner you should treat it as incomplete or non‑standard.

So, for everyday correct usage:

✅ Az ablak nyitva van.
❌ Az ablak nyitva. (avoid as a learner)

What is the difference between ha and amikor? Could we use amikor here?

ha usually means if (and sometimes “when” in a conditional, repeated sense). It expresses a condition.
amikor means when in a more temporal sense (talking about time, not condition).

In this sentence:

A nappali világos és nyugodt, ha az ablak nyitva van.
= The living room is bright and calm *if the window is open.
→ This is clearly a *condition, so ha is perfect.

You could say:

A nappali világos és nyugodt, amikor az ablak nyitva van.

This would sound a bit more like:

The living room is bright and calm *when(ever) the window is open.*

In many real situations, ha and amikor will both be understood, but ha is the more natural choice for a conditional statement like this.

Why do we say az ablak (with the article) instead of just ablak?

In Hungarian, definite articles (a / az) are used:

much more consistently than in English, and
often where English might allow no article.

Here:

az ablak = the window (a specific one that both speaker and listener can identify – typically the living room window).

If you wanted to talk about windows in general, you’d usually change the structure more radically, for example:

Ha egy ablak nyitva van, a szoba világos.
= If a window is open, the room is bright.

But for a specific known window in a specific room, az ablak is normal and expected.

Can we change the order to Ha az ablak nyitva van, a nappali világos és nyugodt? Is that better or worse?

Yes, this version is completely correct:

Ha az ablak nyitva van, a nappali világos és nyugodt.

The difference is about which part you present first, not about correctness.

A nappali világos és nyugodt, ha az ablak nyitva van.
→ starts with the result (living room’s state), then adds the condition.
Ha az ablak nyitva van, a nappali világos és nyugodt.
→ starts with the condition (open window), then states the result.

Both orders are common and natural. Use whichever flow feels more natural in your context; learners will often find the “if‑clause first” order easier to connect with English.